The bath
by RedQueen611
Summary: How Regina discovers Emma's hidden tattoo... OS Story


Hey everyone! I know it's been a while since I posted a story here... I've received this prompt on tumblr the other day and as not all of you are following me on tumblr I thought it could be a good idea to post it there... So, here is the prompt :

**POST 3X03 PIXIE DUST IS NEVER WRONG. BUT IT CAN SOMETIMES BE A BIT TRICKY ABOUT THE TERMS OF TRUE LOVE WHEN TIME AND WORLDS SEPARATE PEOPLE. AKA, WHEN REGINA STRUGGLES WITH HER JALOUSY AND FEELINGS FOR EMMA BUT KNOWS THANK TO TINKER BELL SHE MUST BE THE 'SELFISH' TRUE LOVE OF SOME UNKNOWN MALE WITH A TATTOO. WELL, UNTIL SHE DISCOVERS EMMA HAS HER VERY OWN LION TATTOO, JUST WELL HIDDEN.**

This is a very little story but I hope you'll enjoy it...

* * *

Emma sneaked out of her bed without looking at the other ones, still asleep and started to walk towards the lake she and her parents spotted few hours ago.

Getting back to the camp with a different path this day, they had found a little lake with a waterfall. Just after dinner her parents went here after asking her if she wanted to come.

Even if she was dying for a bath, she said no. That was weird enough to be in Neverland with your same aged parents and Emma didn't really wanted to increase the thing by taking a bath together. That would just have been too awkward. And she was happy with her decision seeing her mom's red cheeks when they came back to the camp.

But the blond needed to get clean, she needed to jump in that water even if at this time of the day she will be freezing. She didn't care at all.

When the lake was finally visible, she was greeted by a familiar voice

"Who's there?"

Emma frowned and came closer of the water to found where the voice came from. That's when she saw the mayor, in the water until her neck.

"Oh, Regina, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were here…"

She looked away even if she couldn't see anything. That was more a reflex than for the mayor privacy because she could only see the shape of Regina's head above the water, due to the moonlight.

"I'll come back later."

She started to walk away but was stopped by the woman's voice.

"You can stay…"

Emma wanted to be sure she heard well, so she came as close as she could without getting her boots wet and watched somewhere on the lake where she couldn't see Regina but could hear her.

"Excuse me?"

"You can stay" Regina cleared her throat and spoke again. Even if she knew that Emma couldn't see her naked body, she crossed her arms in her chest. "The lake is large enough for both of us. And we can barely see so…"

Emma hesitated. She didn't wanted to bath with her parents and she really needed to be alone but…this was an opportunity to be alone with Regina and maybe talk with her.

"I…I can come back later if you need a moment alone, you know?"

"Don't be stupid miss Swan. The water is already cold, if you come back later, you won't be able to put a simple feet on it…"

"Maybe…" Emma hesitated a little bit longer, enough time to make Regina smile at the idea of an hesitating Emma at the water's edge.

"Shy aren't we dear?"

The blond could see the smirk on the brunette's face even thought she wasn't even able to see her eyes and decided to choose a good bath instead of a moment of tranquility. Because she knew that a bath with the mayor will be everything else but a moment of rest.

"Okay."

And she started to strip knowing that, at this particular moment, Regina wasn't facing her anymore.

Putting a foot in the lake, Emma understood that if she didn't jump in the water, it was going to be really hard to get entirely into it. So the young women started to run and when the water was above her waist, she jumped in it. A little further the brunette rolled her eyes to the sound of the splash made by the blond.

A few second later, Emma emerged and took a deep breath.

"That good?" asked the smiling mayor.

"You have no idea… Though a little bit warmer would be perfect… But we can't have everything right?"

"Well, maybe we can… if you want warmth, maybe you should come closer…"

"What?"

"Not that kind of warmth Miss Swan…just come here, you'll see"

Emma hesitated but came closer to the mayor and she could felt, as she went that the water was heating up. Now she could clearly see Regina's face, the blonde leaned against the rock, facing the other woman.

"How…"

"Magic dear." Answered Regina with a smile

Regina who was also leaning against rocks, tipped his head back on to the cold hard boulder and closed her eyes. Emma took advantage of this moment to watch the face of the woman, her black hair against her neck, revealing all her face. She gazed her features highlighted by the moonlight and found that she seemed really tired. But wasn't that for everyone else? This trip across worlds was exhausting and even the former Queen must be impatient to come back to Storybrooke.

Emma took her eyes off the woman and looked around them with a smile. Soon she couldn't suppress a laugh making Regina open her eyes.

"Something funny Miss Swan?"

"It's just that…I didn't want to take a bath with my parents but…I'm actually doing it with my step grand mother…that's quite funny"

"Please, I'm not your step grand mother dear. We're almost the same age"

Emma stopped smiling, feeling suddenly uncomfortable.

"Yeah, you're right."

Regina noticed the look on the younger woman's face and couldn't help but wanted to know what was bothering the blonde. For some days now, she didn't feel the anger she used to feel towards the blonde. Friendship? She doubted. Then what was it?

"Something wrong?"

"What?…" Emma, who was lost in her thoughts, was brought back to reality by Regina voice. She took a few seconds to decide if she wanted to share what was on her mind with the former mayor. After all, she and Emma weren't friends, so why would she ask?

"It's just…last time, Mary Margaret asked me to call her…mom"

"And?" asked Regina. More to encourage Emma to go on than to have a real answer

"She may be my mom but, she could be my sister or my best friend, you know? All of it is so weird… Why do my parents had to be characters of a freaking fairytale?!"

Regina let a few seconds escape, in a silent only broken by the sound of the water against the rocks

Then, she cleared her throat, catching Emma's attention.

"Well…maybe you're gonna say that's none of my business, that everything is my fault and, you wouldn't be wrong. But, if I could tell you one thing, it would be enjoy your family Emma. I only understood that when it was too late but it's still time for you to open your eyes. I know that it's complicated, family always is but it wouldn't be the same if it wasn't"

Emma let a moment pass, to gather her thoughts

"I guess I'm just not ready for having a family…"

"I understand. But enjoy that, because having nothing, it's the worst curse imaginable"

Those words echoed in Emma's mind, but this time the tone of the brunette was different. She looked up, right into Regina's eyes to see that special thing, that look, that she and only she has always been able to see in the mayor's eyes. Why? Maybe because they weren't as different as they thought…

"You're also part of this family Regina. As well as Mary-Margaret, David, Henry and I." She saw the brilliants eyes of the woman rise to the stars. She was smiling. But Emma knew that all she wanted at this moment was quite the opposite. "Trust me Regina, you're not alone"

She looked back right to the savior. And again she felt something. Something in her chest. But erased that feeling as soon as it appeared.

Long forgotten all the sass, critics and fights. They were enjoying a time together, alone. And the thoughts that Regina was trying really hard to suppress came back like a slap in her face. She appreciated Emma, in a way she maybe shouldn't.

The two women had started to joke and laugh but sleep was getting over them and just before starting to move towards the edge of the lake, Emma suppressed a yawn and stretched, offering the inside of her wrist to Regina's view.

"Nice tattoo by the way…I didn't know you had one"

"Well, youth mistake, I try to hide it most of time. But thanks"

_Awkward _ Emma thought. They were one meter away from the shore, were the depth was just enough to keep their bodies covered, and didn't know how to proceed to get out of the water.

"I suggest I get out first, dress up and then leave to let you go out."

"The problem is Miss Swan, that we are soaked and I don't want to sleep in wet clothes."

"Didn't thought about that…"

"Maybe I can do something"

"Something…?"

Regina looked around her and with a switch of her wrist made magically appear two soft and warm towels.

"After you sheriff"

Emma smile and walked as fast as she could to the towel, took it and wrap herself in it. She was closely followed by Regina who imitated her. As both their bodies were covered, Emma watched how the former mayor had plunged her nose in the towel.

"Smells like home, right?" the blonde asked with a smile.

"Yes…" answered softly the brunette, without even opening her eyes.

They stood like this for a moment, enjoying the heat of the towel but, with a chuckle, Emma broke the peaceful moment.

"Don't want to break the ambiance but, we need to dress up and our clothes…to be honest…well, they stink"

"Why do you always need to be the killjoy"

"Hey! _You_ are usually the killjoy, not me!"

"Not wrong…I guess I have to do something"

And again, with a poop, she resolved the problem and quickly Emma and Regina were back in clean clothes. As Emma dressed up, a smile appeared on her face. Like the towels, her shirt had a special perfume, Regina's perfume. She actually liked it but didn't tell the brunette otherwise she was sure she wouldn't stop make fun of her.

The silent between the two was beginning to be a little overwhelming so, the blonde started the conversation again.

"I have another one by the way"

"Excuse me?"

"A tattoo…"

She pulled up the bottom of her shirt and showed the sign inked on the back of her hip.

"What does it represents?"

"Well…" she started "at the orphanage I lived, they didn't know my birth day. So, and like for the other children that were in the same case, they gave me the same birthday as the men who founded the orphanage. 21 August. I wanted to do a tattoo…you know teenage rebellion, all this stuff…" she breathed "whatever, I didn't know what to do and the tattooist gave me ideas like my astrological sign. I'm not in this astrological thing but I found my sign pretty nice and so I did this…"

Emma watched how Regina stared at her marked skin, swallowing hardly. She wondered why she was gazing at it but decided to put her shirt back in place.

"And you?" she asked, breaking Regina's thoughts

"What?"

"A tattoo. Do you have one?" she asked with an amused smile.

"Oh, no. Absolutely not."

"Yeah, I don't see you as the tattoo type but…you should think about it. It could look pretty nice on you."

Regina, still a bit lost, didn't even mocked at the compliment.

"I don't think so…"

"Maybe one day, you'll change your mind…"

While talking Emma had gathering her things and started to walk away from the lake.

"We should go back to the camp…"

She didn't really heard the question and answered with an absent voice

"Yeah"

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't see Emma leave and when she looked up, the blonde had already disappeared in the darkness of the jungle.

_A lion's tattoo… _She repeated for herself. Emma had a lion's tattoo. Instantly all her feelings resurfaced and her world collapsed.

After a few moment, when she started to walk towards the camp, Regina knew that nothing would be like before.

* * *

Hope you liked it, see you soon! And don't forget too tell me what you think of this little story ;)

(You can found me on tumblr as redqueen611. mostly swan queen and ouat posts but also lost girl, orange is the new black, rizzoli and isles and some other stuff)


End file.
